Extreme OLED test finds Apple's iPhone X takes much longer to 'burn in' images than Samsun...

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2018
OLED technology is prone to image burn-in -- something that Apple worked hard to compensate for in designing the hardware and software of the iPhone X. A new and extreme stress test puts the iPhone X anti-burn-in capabilities to the test, discovering Apple's efforts have, in fact, put it ahead of the competition under the most difficult conditions.




Pitting the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy 7 Edge against one another, South Korean site Cetizen ran a 510-hour marathon test to see how long it takes to burn in an image on a modern OLED smartphone.

Interestingly, the iPhone X began showing very faint, nearly invisible signs of burn-in at the 17-hour mark, but to the surprise of the tester, after that the situation did not worsen. The burned-in images were said to be so light that they would not be seen in average daily use.

By the 62-hour mark, the Note 8 began showing a sudden and noticeable signs of burn-in, despite not having significant signs prior. The tester asked people to identify burned in parts of the screen while displaying a white image, and while they had no trouble identifying it on the Note 8, it was not visible to users on the iPhone X.

The test, first spotted by BGR, eventually ran for a whopping 510 hours, or more than 21 days -- well beyond the amount of time that any smartphone OLED display would ever show a static image in normal daily usage.




In the end, the Galaxy Note 8 showed the worst signs of burn-in after the marathon test. The Galaxy S7 Edge, despite being a 2016 phone, performed admirably, but was still bested by the 2017 iPhone X.

After three weeks of displaying the same image on maximum brightness, all three handsets expectedly had potentially permanent signs of burn-in. But the tests also show that Apple's efforts to reduce the effects of OLED burn-in have paid off.

Apple itself has a public support document on is website acknowledging that there is a possibility of image persistence when a display shows an image for an extended period of time.

"With extended long-term use, OLED displays can also show slight visual changes," Apple's documentation reads. "This is also expected behavior and can include 'image persistence' or 'burn-in,' where the display shows a faint remnant of an image even after a new image appears on the screen."

Apple advises that users avoid continuously displaying the same high-contrast image for prolonged periods of time.

The OLED burn-in "issue" isn't new, and isn't permanent with well-engineered panels. Evidence collected over the last few years demonstrates that retained images are wiped over a brief period of normal time of normal use displaying non-static elements, with the user periodically turning off the device when not in use.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Apple may be using Samsung’s OLED display technology but it appears their software management of it is superior. Just like Apple’s software management of batteries to prevent sudden shutdowns. Could it be that Apple really does care about the customer experience?
    edited January 2018 mwhiteSnickersMagoomacxpressStrangeDayshodarandrewj5790chiagregg thurmanracerhomie3magman1979
  • Reply 2 of 27
    tjwolftjwolf Posts: 424member
    ...wonder how long before that white home/apps-switcher bar gets burned in....
  • Reply 3 of 27
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member
    Good stuff. Apple probably knew too well that burn in on a Galaxy in two or three years would just be shrugged at and people would move on, while burn-in on an iPhone would become a *gate that people bludgeoned users with. 
    watto_cobragilly33
  • Reply 4 of 27
    Is the burn-in a permanent condition on OLED displays or does it fade over time (hours/days) if the static image goes away?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 27
    thedbathedba Posts: 761member
    lkrupp said:
    Apple may be using Samsung’s OLED display technology but it appears their software management of it is superior. Just like Apple’s software management of batteries to prevent sudden shutdowns. Could it be that Apple really does care about the customer experience?
    Good luck trying to explain that to various online peanut galleries. 
    I just spent a few minutes looking at a Mac Rumors Q&A article carefully explaining the battery issue and many posters there felt the need to post their uninformed opinions. Now my head hurts from all this  🙄
    SnickersMagooStrangeDaysgregg thurmanracerhomie3magman1979badmonkwatto_cobragilly33redgeminipa
  • Reply 6 of 27
    2old4fun2old4fun Posts: 239member
    Is the burn-in a permanent condition on OLED displays or does it fade over time (hours/days) if the static image goes away?
    Read the article, last paragraph.
    watto_cobraredgeminipa
  • Reply 7 of 27
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    It’s only temporary burn-in and goes away with normal use. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 27
    mwhitemwhite Posts: 287member
    Burn in fade out haha
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 27
    tjwolf said:
    ...wonder how long before that white home/apps-switcher bar gets burned in....
    The bar changes and adapts to the image around it so it’s not always one color. It also changes position depending on if you’re in landscape or portrait, and it’s no visible on the home screen. If it ever does get burned in it will probably not be noticeable. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 27
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    So has this always been a problem, or did it just become a problem when Apple moved to OLED panels?

    edited January 2018 orthiconRonnnieOmagman1979watto_cobragilly33
  • Reply 11 of 27
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    There’s a difference between image retention and burn-in. Image retention is a temporary situation that rectifies itself. Image burn-in is a permanent situation that just gets worse. The problem with burn-in is that even if you do t have a bright static situation, the entire screen eventually suffers from it in spotches. It will take a long time that way, but like a crt, it will happen. When you do keep a bright consistent image, it happens in that spot much faster, and even if you stop doing that, burn-in in that spot progresses even with normal imaging.

    it seems that Apple’s technology has helped noticably. Burn-in is one reasoning wasn’t in a rush to see Apple go to OLED. Lack of brightness was the other, but they seem to have made strides there too.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 27
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,796member
    Rayz2016 said:
    So has this always been a problem, or did it just become a problem when Apple moved to OLED panels?

    One of the downsides to OLED is the risk of burn-in on the screen should a picture stay static long enough to do so.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 27

    Pitting the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy Note 7 Edge against one another, South Korean site Cetizen ran a 510-hour marathon test to see how long it takes to burn in an image on a modern OLED smartphone.

    What's a Galaxy Note 7 Edge?

    Results are a mixed bag really. What is worse, a slight problem after a "short" period of time or a worse problem after a long time? Neither really as it shows that under extreme testing that no one would ever replicate in real life, all three phones are fine as the "burn" in isn't permanent. Just don't hang a phone on your wall displaying one picture.
  • Reply 14 of 27
    Rayz2016 said:
    So has this always been a problem, or did it just become a problem when Apple moved to OLED panels?
    It has always been...but became "a problem" once apple started using the tech.
    gilly33watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 27

    Pitting the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy Note 7 Edge against one another, South Korean site Cetizen ran a 510-hour marathon test to see how long it takes to burn in an image on a modern OLED smartphone.

    What's a Galaxy Note 7 Edge?

    Results are a mixed bag really. What is worse, a slight problem after a "short" period of time or a worse problem after a long time? Neither really as it shows that under extreme testing that no one would ever replicate in real life, all three phones are fine as the "burn" in isn't permanent. Just don't hang a phone on your wall displaying one picture.
    If by “slight”, you mean, not noticeable in average daily use, then I’d take that over a long term noticeable issue.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 27

    Pitting the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy Note 7 Edge against one another, South Korean site Cetizen ran a 510-hour marathon test to see how long it takes to burn in an image on a modern OLED smartphone.

    What's a Galaxy Note 7 Edge?

    Results are a mixed bag really. What is worse, a slight problem after a "short" period of time or a worse problem after a long time? Neither really as it shows that under extreme testing that no one would ever replicate in real life, all three phones are fine as the "burn" in isn't permanent. Just don't hang a phone on your wall displaying one picture.
    If by “slight”, you mean, not noticeable in average daily use, then I’d take that over a long term noticeable issue.
    It's not long-term normal use, it's dozens of hours in a row that no person would ever do
  • Reply 17 of 27
    Rayz2016 said:
    So has this always been a problem, or did it just become a problem when Apple moved to OLED panels?

    This only happened when Apple moved to OLED./s Smartphone screen burn-in really wasn't much talked about before. All that mattered was that Samsung's superior display smartphones were absolutely brilliant and vibrant. Much, much more so than the iPhone's dull and lifeless LCD display. Who cares about burn-in when the display is easily seen in bright daylight. If burn-in occurs then it's high time to buy the latest Samsung Galaxy S or Note.

    The way I see it, certain natural things become more or less important once Apple does it. Things that have been happening for years will suddenly rear their ugly heads if it shows up on an Apple product. Apple is always under that microscope and something nasty is definitely going to be found. Apple had better find the solution to change the laws of physics because even if something is a natural cause, Apple is going to be held responsible. If a Samsung OLED display goes bad in an Apple product, Apple is going to be held at fault and not Samsung. Why? Because Apple is expected to meet the highest possible standards, no matter how unreasonable that may be.

    It makes some sense that if a smartphone's OLED display doesn't burn as bright, it won't burn in as fast.  I've always kept my computer displays brightness lower to try to avoid that.  I always used screen-savers and early display sleep mode to stop burn-in.  But if Apple doesn't want early burn-in then they would be wise to cut back on that brightness.  Some critics will complain that the iPhone X display isn't as good-looking as the Galaxy S8 or Note 8.  That's a bad Apple.
    edited January 2018 StrangeDaysgilly33watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 27
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Rayz2016 said:
    So has this always been a problem, or did it just become a problem when Apple moved to OLED panels?
    It has always been...but became "a problem" once apple started using the tech.
    Yup, that’s what. I thought. 

    Typical. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 27
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    Rayz2016 said:
    So has this always been a problem, or did it just become a problem when Apple moved to OLED panels?

    This only happened when Apple moved to OLED./s Smartphone screen burn-in really wasn't much talked about before. All that mattered was that Samsung's superior display smartphones were absolutely brilliant and vibrant. Much, much more so than the iPhone's dull and lifeless LCD display. Who cares about burn-in when the display is easily seen in bright daylight. If burn-in occurs then it's high time to buy the latest Samsung Galaxy S or Note.

    The way I see it, certain natural things become more or less important once Apple does it. Things that have been happening for years will suddenly rear their ugly heads if it shows up on an Apple product. Apple is always under that microscope and something nasty is definitely going to be found. Apple had better find the solution to change the laws of physics because even if something is a natural cause, Apple is going to be held responsible. If a Samsung OLED display goes bad in an Apple product, Apple is going to be held at fault and not Samsung. Why? Because Apple is expected to meet the highest possible standards, no matter how unreasonable that may be.

    It makes some sense that if a smartphone's OLED display doesn't burn as bright, it won't burn in as fast.  I've always kept my computer displays brightness lower to try to avoid that.  I always used screen-savers and early display sleep mode to stop burn-in.  But if Apple doesn't want early burn-in then they would be wise to cut back on that brightness.  Some critics will complain that the iPhone X display isn't as good-looking as the Galaxy S8 or Note 8.  That's a bad Apple.
    Summed up nicely I think. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 27
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member

    Pitting the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy Note 7 Edge against one another, South Korean site Cetizen ran a 510-hour marathon test to see how long it takes to burn in an image on a modern OLED smartphone.

    What's a Galaxy Note 7 Edge?

    Results are a mixed bag really. What is worse, a slight problem after a "short" period of time or a worse problem after a long time? Neither really as it shows that under extreme testing that no one would ever replicate in real life, all three phones are fine as the "burn" in isn't permanent. Just don't hang a phone on your wall displaying one picture.
    Burn-in is permanent. There ways of alleviating the burn-in that has happened, but it doesn’t get rid of it, and it still gets worse.

    these tests are perfectly fine. They’re called “accelerated aging”. It’s standard in industry. There was a major difference between these phones, and those differences will be seen in “real world” conditions after some time. The slight problem after a short time, which according to the testers, could hardly be seen is much better than the easily seen problems from the other phones which took somewhat longer to develop. Remember also that the burn-in didn’t seem to get much worse with the iPhone X. After the tests were done the differences were significant.

    i know you don’t like these results, based on what I read of your posting, but they are real.
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
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